Before the Lingyun Hall, the massive plaza was already packed with seated guests.
Ye Liuyun, the Sect Master of the Xuantian Sect, was currently busy greeting everyone.
Come to think of it, years ago when he adopted Lin Hao and saw the two characters "Lin Hao" written on the jade pendant at the boy's waist, he named him accordingly.
Over all these years, he had treated Lin Hao as his own flesh and blood, pouring every single resource within the sect into him.
Lin Hao did not let him down either, rising head and shoulders above his peers at a young age to become the undisputed number one prodigy of the Northern Wasteland.
"Hao'er!"
Seeing Lin Hao walking from afar, Ye Liuyun beamed with joy, looking just like a proud father watching his own son get married.
"Adoptive father!"
Lin Hao stopped before him and bowed respectfully.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother!"
"Senior Brother, you can finally marry Miss Mei. This truly repays all those years of devotion you showed her."
"Indeed, indeed."
Junior brothers and sisters stepped forward one after another to offer their congratulations.
Every single one of them treated Lin Hao with the utmost respect.
Yet Ye Ling, the junior sister usually closest to Lin Hao, sat by herself in the VIP seating like an aggrieved child, drinking her sorrows away in silence.
She was Ye Liuyun's daughter and the Saintess of the Xuantian Sect, having grown up alongside Lin Hao as childhood sweethearts.
"Ling'er, come over and congratulate Hao'er," Ye Liuyun said with a frown.
Hearing this, Ye Ling slammed her wine cup down in displeasure, raising a flushed, pretty face: "She clearly doesn't even like him! Why must you insist on marrying her?"
As soon as these words fell, a dead silence descended upon the scene.
Ye Liuyun understood his daughter's feelings all too well, but alas, Hao'er had eyes only for Mei Shiyun.
Matters of the heart simply could not be forced.
With the hall now full of guests, Ye Liuyun had no choice but to step forward and softly comfort her: "Ling'er, today is Hao'er's wedding day. You must not throw a tantrum. Get up now."
Pouting, Ye Ling stood up unhappily and walked over to Lin Hao: "Senior Brother, congratulations on finally getting your wish!"
Seeing the deep displeasure written all over his junior sister's face, Lin Hao habitually pressed a hand onto her head: "There's no such thing as getting a wish or not. It's just getting married."
Huh?!
Ye Ling lifted her gaze in sheer astonishment.
She had no idea what he meant by that.
No way!
What is going on here?!
Why did it feel like Senior Brother didn't care about this marriage at all?
Regaining her senses, Ye Ling stared at Lin Hao in utter bewilderment.
Was this still the Senior Brother she knew?
Under normal circumstances, Senior Brother would have rushed over to welcome Mei Shiyun long ago. What on earth was wrong with him today?
Lin Hao's abnormal behavior not only stunned Ye Ling and the others, but even left Ye Liuyun at a loss.
Didn't he want to marry Mei Shiyun more than anything else in the world?
Ye Liuyun knew very well how many cultivation resources Lin Hao had secretly funneled to the Daotian Sect behind his back over the years.
More often than not, for the sake of Lin Hao's feelings, he had chosen to turn a blind eye.
Yet today, Hao'er's behavior defied all logic.
"The bride has arrived!"
Suddenly, a shrill, sweet cry rang out from the distance.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
They saw a sweet-looking young girl supporting the bride, walking toward them under the escort of Mei Anjiu.
Mei Shishi's ethereal, fairy-like appearance instantly drew the captivated gazes of many men upon her arrival.
Just by looking at her, one could easily imagine how peerless and breathtaking her twin sister must be.
Both sisters were top-tier beauties of the Northern Wasteland.
"Lin Hao, seeing that my sister has arrived, why haven't you come over yet?" Mei Shishi said, her face full of disdain.
Scolding Lin Hao over the years had long become second nature to her.
She completely disregarded the occasion.
Yet the Lin Hao of the past had been a total sycophant; the Lin Hao of now was no such thing!
Faced with Mei Shishi's unsparing reprimand, Lin Hao raised his eyes calmly, his expression devoid of any emotional fluctuation: "Since you're here, let's proceed with the wedding ceremony. What kind of propriety is there in dawdling like this?"
"What did you say?!"
Hearing this, Mei Shiyun pulled her younger sister behind her and shouted angrily: "Lin Hao, have you grown a bear's heart and a leopard's gall? How dare you speak to me like that!"
"I'll give you two choices right now!"
"One, kneel down and apologize!"
"Two, this marriage of ours is off!"
As these words dropped, the sound of the entire crowd drawing in sharp breaths rose one after another.
Mei Shiyun was being far too overbearing.
She hadn't even crossed the threshold yet, and she was already demanding that Lin Hao kneel and apologize in public. Was there any woman in this world who treated her husband-to-be like this?
"Yun'er, look... is this really necessary..."
Mei Anjiu offered an awkward, ingratiating smile, but he made no move to stop her.
He entirely agreed with his daughter's approach.
Rules had to be established before marriage.
Only then would it be easy to better control Lin Hao in the future, and by extension, control the entire Xuantian Sect!
Mei Shiyun's aggressive stance plunged the Xuantian Sect side into awkwardness. To prevent Hao'er from being publicly humiliated, Ye Liuyun could only cup his fists with a flattering smile: "Brother Mei, today is a joyous day for both our families. Look at all the guests watching—won't you please advise your beloved daughter not to lose her temper?"
"I don't want to either, but Yun'er has been spoiled rotten by me. Once her temper flares up, even I can't control her. Lin Hao, you'd better just apologize," Mei Anjiu said hypocritically.
In the past, if Mei Shiyun told Lin Hao to kneel, Lin Hao had no choice but to kneel.
If he failed to catch a grape skin she spat out, a round of whipping was guaranteed.
Yet today...
Not only did Lin Hao refuse to kneel, but his tone carried a hint of irritation: "Woman, do you not want to get married after all?"
"You!"
Furious, Mei Shiyun tore off her red bridal veil and hurled it viciously at Lin Hao.
With a casual flick of Lin Hao's sleeve, it exploded mid-air into a sky full of fine powder!
"Oh, heavens!"
Behind him, Ye Ling covered her red lips with her hand, her eyes widened in shock.
That was so satisfying to watch...
Lin Hao's unusual behavior was simply full of might and backbone.
Mei Shiyun never expected Lin Hao to act so domineering. Driven to a frenzy of rage, she shoved over a nearby table and pointed a trembling finger at him: "What kind of madness have you caught, acting so presumptuously in front of me and my father? Don't think that just because you have a little reputation in the Northern Wasteland, you can act like you own the world. With your pitiful skills, once you go to Zhongzhou, you'll be nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well, a worthless piece of trash!"
In Mei Shiyun's eyes, the realm of Zhongzhou was akin to a celestial wonderland, where any random prodigy coming to the Northern Wasteland could crush Lin Hao into dust.
Let alone comparing him to her Tang Chen brother.
How could the flicker of a firefly dare to compete with the bright moon?
What a joke!
"Zhongzhou..." Lin Hao wore a mocking smirk at the corner of his lips: "A mere Zhongzhou is enough to fill you with such yearning? It seems your vision is limited to nothing more than this."
Cultivation realms, from lowest to highest, were divided into: Qi Refining, Origin Breaking, Yin-Yang, Void Traversal, Purple Palace, Nether Penetration, Divine Storage, Return to Void, Void-Breaking, and Ascending Heaven.
And yet!
These were merely the realms of the lower realm!
Lin Hao was the Young Master of the Upper Realm's Lin Family; how could he possibly look down upon the so-called "Sacred Ground of Zhongzhou" in this lower realm?
In Mei Shiyun's eyes, Lin Hao was nothing more than a clown putting on a show, completely ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.
Equally,
In Lin Hao's eyes, Mei Shiyun possessed long hair and short insight.
She was just a shortsighted, stupid woman!
On their wedding day, the groom and bride stood like sharp points meeting head-on. Such a tense, hair-trigger atmosphere made the guests look troubled on the surface while secretly marveling in their hearts.